Post-Mockingjay: The Aftermath
I stand close to the stage, where Snow and Ms. Katniss Everdeen stand.
Katniss's hair is in a tight braid, and she wears a simple black shirt with black pants and black boots. Her skin is raw and red, and her gray eyes, once sparkling with emotion, now focus themselves dully on Snow.
President Coin stands up on the balcony, giving a speech that nobody is really paying attention to. It's the stage that we're watching, and my own eyes are focused on the black bow held in Katniss's trembling hands.
I notice the eye contact between Snow and Katniss, almost as though the two are having an unspoken conversation.
And Katniss's eyes spark up once more. In one swift motion, she aims her bow at Coin, and releases her bowstring. The arrow hits Coin directly in the heart, a perfect shot; and she goes plunging to the ground.
The crowd goes wild, people are screaming, and I notice Snow, coughing blood.
And then I see Katniss and my heart drops.
The soldiers have seized her, and though she's clearly overpowered, she fights back. There's an animalistic look in her eyes; wild and untamed. She claws at the soldiers, desperation taking over. Her skin is peeling off but she appears to take no notice. She doesn't care anymore; she just wants to get away from here.
As the soldiers drag her away, kicking and scratching, my eyes well up. Only seventeen, and already enough scarring for a dozen lifetimes.
Many years go by without a trace of her. Most assume she's dead, killed by the soldiers, or perhaps died from emotional trauma, but stories of her live on. Children whisper tales of the heroic Katniss Everdeen, and how she protected all of the citizens of Panem.
But ten years later, she makes an appearance. My television flickers on and I stare questioningly at it, until an elderly Caesar Flickerman walks onstage, a mischievous flicker in his eyes.
"Hello, citizens of Panem. We'd like to announce the return of some very, very special people. Please welcome the Mellark family!"
Peeta Mellark walks out first. He looks to be in his late twenties, but still has the same fresh look that he did at sixteen. His blonde hair is brushed back and he wears a gold-trimmed tuxedo. Waving to the audience, the ever-so-charismatic charmer sits next to Caesar.
The next people to walk out cause me to suck in a breath.
It's none other than Katniss Everdeen herself. And holding both of her hands, a little blonde girl and chubby brunette toddler boy. She looks down at the two children lovingly, and when she looks into the camera, I can see the spark in her eyes.
And that's when I realize that no matter how scorched and burned anything becomes, life will always grow. Everything heals, and life goes on.